Steep Climb

 

As the night of Christmas Eve draws near, the excitement grows. Doesn’t it take you back? The lights and sounds and feeling of Christmas are powerful in evoking memories. I feel it myself, and I see it on the faces of those around me.

As I drove home last night, I enjoyed the outdoor lights. As I looked out my window at the colors, I was transported back to my childhood. It seemed like only yesterday that I was a boy at Christmas. One of our family traditions, and one of my favorites, was the night we would pile in the car and make the drive to Little Rock to look at the lights. I can still feel the cold. I can remember bundling up in my winter coat. I can remember the thrill of piling in the back seat with my brother and sister and taking our places for the ride. It was one of those things that my dad seemed to enjoy so much in his quiet way. He would navigate through the neighborhoods we always visited, pointing out the most interesting displays.

We would end the evening in town with a stop at the State Capital. They had a large display of the Nativity. In my mind it was life sized. Mary and Joseph in the hay with the baby Jesus. Shepherds gathered round the simple stall. Unless my mind plays tricks after all these years, there were exotic kings and camels as well.

What I remember most, however, was that the display set atop the many, many steps that led to the building entrance. In the magnificent building constructed long before our current awareness and the Americans with Disability Act, you climbed steep steps to see the nativity. As a small boy, it seemed to be an “other world” type of place, high above, lit up against the darkness, a kind of prized destination reached after a long journey of searching. Part of the experience was the quiet climb.

For those of us who were formed in the Church from our earliest days of life, and for those of us for whom faith comes more easily, it is easy to forget that finding God in the strange story of Christmas is a steep climb for others. Instead of judging, we should embrace. Instead of turning this sacred time into a political culture war, we should follow the one born on Christmas so closely that others follow us to see what this faith thing is all about. As in my memories, what a gift it is to climb those steps with others.

Peace.